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#maybe the best villain in this world?
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Tomarry AU where Tom HATES this book he read because his favourite character dies a miserable death. So what if his favorite character was a no-named side villain? Why does it matter that he only had like seven lines (seven is Tom's favourite number anyways)? He was still gorgeous, smart and strong and beautiful — and it doesn't matter that others think he isn't all that because they would never know him— understand him like TOM DOES.
An AU where Tom has a healthy obsession with a character named Harry Potter, a no named baron's son who was the first to go against the king (MC's father, and the mc who is incidentally known as Draco Malfoy, ahem anyways); he tries to “poison” him. But he gets caught or to be more precise he ends up sacrificing himself for the common girl Hermione Granger (the female lead, I'm sorry guys but imagine the fucking drama.) who gets blamed for his transgressions.
But that is not why Tom falls for this weak villain, no — it's because he respects how this no-named orphan became a baron on his own two feet without anyone being there for him especially in a world where old money and title is everything— and he hates how he had to give his life for the MC to notice the female lead? (Harry is better looking and smarter than her anyways — Tom, in an online forum perhaps.)
Anyways, now imagine Tom dying (he hated it so yes he ends up looking for immorality anyways.) and waking up in the world he hated. Now imagine, Tom Riddle, waking up in the body of a Duke who wasn't even given a name in the novel. (He would know because he has a photographic memory, ok? It's totally not because he read it more than 14 times) and then saying fuck it and owning it.
Just think, Tom taking over the world slowly with his worldly knowledge while trying to keep Harry alive because even though he was right about Harry being smart; the guy treats his life like Draco treats his money - you get the idea.
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childrenofthesun77 · 6 months
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Assuming that the whole 'mahiru is the vessel needed to bring back the count and the 9th servamp will be the servamp of vainglory' theory will be correct, it's interesting how both mahiru and touma can be accused of this sin even if the way it applies to them is opposed.
What touma wants is to be acknowledged and to that end he was willing to become the villain who destroyed the world before mahiru and tsurugi managed to change his mind:
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Mahiru's way of being vainglorious seems a lot more positive at first because he wants to be a hero who saves others, but it's self-destructive and encourages laziness in others:
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But thankfully we see mahiru starting to let go of the need to make other people proud of him and to prioritize making himself proud in his conversation with tsurugi:
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and later when mahiru has a meltdown because he fears his uncle might be dead and suggests sacrificing his life to save the world kuro rightfully yells at mahiru for acting hypocritical and not listening to his own advice:
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(I want to mention here that I really love how horrified kuro looks as he realizes that mahiru's reckless hero behaviour comes from a very self-destructing place:
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because not a lot of manga I know really acknowledge that maybe the way a lot of their protagonists try to be heroic is actually pretty unhealthy and shouldn't be encouraged? Like Sigurd pointed out at the C3 meeting, it's kind of shameful that the children have to save the day)
Which is why I love that mahiru decided to trust kuro to handle tsubaki without him going with him:
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He decides to stay back with everyone else, showing that he has learned that he doesn't need to be the one to do everything and can stay back with the others to buy kuro time.
Interestingly we see touma doing something similar. Opposed to his old need to have the whole world acknowledge him he now wishes for everyone to believe he's dead and he's helping to protect the city by creating a huge barrier without making it known that's he the one doing this:
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He's helping the protagonists seemingly with no intention of earning acknowledgement for it.
I think in a way it could be cool of servamp to subvert the shouned trope that for the finale battle the only one able to defeat the big bad is the protagonist while everyone else just watches on from the sidelines, not allowed to do anything because this is the protagonist's moment of glory.
What if lily's plan when he put kuro in mahiru's path was that if kuro tried to stop tsubaki at the gate surely his eve would need to be there with him, right? Because of course he needs his eve to fight and then there's also the distance limit. So why not make the vessel you need at that gate for the ritual to work kuro's eve? Then the vessel would be at the place where you need them without you even needing to do something because naturally they would be thinking they are doing the right thing by going with kuro to fight tsubaki together. And surely someone as vainglorious as mahiru would never pass up the opportunity to be the hero who stops tsubaki. It's foolproof!
Unless of course before the ritual the vessel learned to let go of their vainglorious nature, accepted that it's okay to take a step into the background and trust in others. And additionally also found a way to break through the whole forced proximity thing that the servamp and eves had going on.
I don't know, I feel like it would be a neat bow on mahiru's character arc and a unique way to thawrt the antagonists' plans if the creation of the servamp of vainglory failed because the 'it has to be me' guy they wanted to use as the vessel decided against glory and stayed back to let his partner handle things with tsubaki alone because he trusts him. Kuro on the other hand wants to make up for his past regrets and resolve the conflict through communication this time. Learning to trust in himself again by managing to talk tsubaki out of going through with the ritual on his own would be a logical conclusion to kuro's arc.
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camellcat · 10 months
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I wonder if Scott's alpha teeth made him nervous even after he got used to them just Being A Thing Now. If, when he would catch the glint of red eyes staring back at him, he had to still an instinctive flinch and try not to think of all the people who have threatened to or almost ended his life with that same vibrant hue. If the feeling of blood under his claws, on his skin, in his hair and soaked into his clothes ever became normal, if it was ever something truly able to be numbed and ignored. If seeing his shadow with pointed ears and elongated claws and shredded shirts gave him day terrors like the Nogitsune never went away; a paranoia that everyone could see how fucking messed up (how scary) he was. If Scott ever truly moved on from feeling afraid of being a monster, of becoming a Monster. Not all monsters do monstrous things, but all Scott has ever seen is monsters who choose to act like their namesake.
If he continues to be cautious and aware of his teeth, of his eyes, of how blood is overwhelming and what it's like to be afraid --- because if he looses his humanity, his tie to slow healing and faulty lungs and what it feels like to be prey to somebody else, how will he be any different from the monsters that plague him?
Scott is the outlier, and he does not let his monstrous features define how he chooses to behave and who is chooses to be.
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First post of my own, whoo!
This was written by a prompt that @save-the-villainous-cat . I don’t have the picture of it, but this was what was said
“ Hero having to break the villain’s ankle so both can get out of a horrible situation ”
TW: implied limb breaking
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“This was by FAR the dumbest plan we have EVER gone through with!” Villain shouted through the shaking corridors. “What the hell were we thinking?!”
“I don’t know!” Hero panted heavily. “Why did you provoke [Supervillain] like that?!”
“Oh I don’t know!! Maybe because I don’t want you to get killed?!”
The two stopped at an intersection but before either could think of where to go or what to say, new loud voices called for the duo from further behind them. Supervillains guards, they had to guess.
Hero took the initiative to grab Villain by the hand and make a sudden choice. They had no time for planning. Only running.
Being aware of their pursuers presence did NOT help with their situation. The rumbling of their surroundings just worsened with new cracks forming on the walls and ceiling. It was icing on the horrible cake that was the Hero and Villain’s plan.
Was Supervillain really so willing to let their lair collapse like this— no, make their lair collapse like this??
“Where the hell is the exi— !!!” The Villain suddenly tripped and fell, but before they could move to get back up the wall next to them suddenly caved. Pinning their leg firmly in place against the ground.
“[Villain]!” Hero stopped in a panic. They could have kept running and left the criminal behind. They could have waited to let Villain deal with this themselves, (and clearly that wasn’t working). So why didn’t they run? Why did they not want to run? Why is it that this villain above all villains is special to the Hero? They didn’t know, and they didn’t have time to ponder about it. They had to help.
“[Hero]! Just— just go! I can do this myself!” Villain struggled to free their leg. It seemed the more they moved the more stuck they got. Shoot.
“[Villain], no!” The Hero retorted, “The guards are closing in on us and I am NOT leaving you!” They got down to try and push the rubble off the other’s leg.
“No, [Hero] you go! Are you trying to get us both killed?!” The Villain protested, but despite their words they tried to free their leg with the hero’s help.
The walls around them continued to crumble while the loud thumping noises of the guards echoed through the halls. It was honestly terrifying for the duo, but what probably scared them more was how Villain’s leg barely made progress.
Hero had to make a choice and they had to do it quickly. It felt like at any moment something was going to crash in on or catch them. So using their abilities, the crime stopper made an attempt to hold off the guards and keep the ceiling up whilst trying to free the Villain.
Both were beginning to get desperate the longer it took. Taking other approaches at freeing the encased limb, but nothing worked. How heavy were these bricks?! Or maybe the Villain and Hero were too weak?? No. Surely this had something to do with Supervillain. Whatever it was it was proving to be a fruitless fight.
“[V—Villain]!” Hero suddenly shouted over all of the ruckus, “I- I think we may have to go with a different option to free you!”
“What other options are there??” The Villain hissed, “brute force??”
Without saying yes or no, Hero began to shift into a different position. One that had a good hold over the hall’s captive. One that would be ready to pull.
“I’m so sorry! But we have no other choice!!” Hero finally explained.
The Villain’s eyes widened, it seemed to click how serious the crime-stopper was as they attempted to perfect the position for the most optimal escape.
The Villain shook their head slowly, “No… no. no [Hero] you can’t do that I— can’t we just keep trying to push the stuff off?! O—or why can’t you use your powers or something?!”
“Because I’m trying to stop the building from collapsing and keeping the guards away!” Hero cried, “We have no other choice! I’m so sorry!!”
“[HERO]!” Villain began to beg, “PLEASE! J— JUST LEAVE ME!”
Hero had never seen Villain so desperate. Sure, the two had given each other plenty of hard hitters in the past. Hits that left scars that told the story without even a need to speak. Meanwhile some remained a simple memory within their mind.
Usually the Villain appeared indifferent when it came to injuries, like they weren’t afraid to draw a little blood whether it was their own or someone else’s. They saw it as something that was an inevitable piece to their villainous job. So why is this different now? Is it because they aren’t in battle?
The Hero didn’t know, but now wasn’t the time to care. That would happen later, so until then the Hero pulled.
Villain gasped at the sudden pull and the rubble began shifting, freeing most of their leg aside from the ankle and foot. They squirmed in Hero’s grasp, shouting things at them that Hero paid no mind to.
They pulled again. Harder this time. Villain continued to yell over the already loud environment, pleading for the Hero to leave them. The building was going down and the Hero’s barricade to block Supervillain’s guards was wearing off.
“[HERO]!” The Villain shouted again, their voice going hoarse from how loud they had to get just to try and speak to someone who was right next to them. “YOU CAN’T! STOP!! PLEASE!!!”
Hero shook their head, tightening their grip onto the horrified criminal, “I'M SORRY!”
The Hero pulled for one last time as hard as they could. Then there was a shift followed by a loud crack.
The Villains cries were almost as loud as the self-destructing halls.
Almost as loud.
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Thanks for reading! I hope I did okay and whoever reads it enjoys it (:
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upwards-descent · 6 months
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I think it's cool having a lot of OCs from all sorts of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. I control the diversity in this house and it's set to a solid 9 🔥
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immamapletreekid · 2 months
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instead of grinding for finals i lost hours to a one piece wiki spiral
#IT ALL STARTED...WITH CP9S INDEPENDENT REPORT#in the most predictable fashion. ive yet again fallen for the “dangerous murder bot villains are actually a found family and genuinely care#for one another“#PLSSS THE WAY THEY ALL WORKED SO HARD TO EARN THE MONEY TO TREAT LUCCI#thinking so hard about how they are one collecfive unit. they move together they work travel live thrive together#giggled so hard at kaku giraffe slide#SOEAKING OF WHICH I JUST LEARNED KAKU IS THE YOUNGEST OUT OF CP9#HE WAS 18 WHEN THEY PLANTED HIM AND THE OTHERS IN WATER 7#im not ok im ripping my pillow to shreds punchjng the wall screaming shaking good GOD DJFJ#KALIFAS DAD WAS IN THE PREV GEN OF CP9????? SO SHES RRALLY BEEN THERE THROUGH IT ALL#thinking about lucci and jabra and blueno trio...#yes i originally was devastated to discover my favourite shipwrifjts were actually undercover government assassins but like#the found family.....maybe not found family but FORGED FAMILY THEY MADE IT WORK#i still think it's so silly that. kaku is the youngest but hes second ij terms od power and he speaks like an old man#in my ideal world cp9 brutally murders spandam and they live their best lives after doijg whatever#attention span for stats and cs??? nonexistent#but yea sure i can spend 2 hours memorizing the key detaisl from the wiki entries of all cp9 agents and making a chart and timeline#maybe this is a sign...that i need to fix this before it causes bigger issues#rambling about stuff#wait omg no last thought is how when all the cp9 members reunite after 5 years and firsg thing they do is immediately check their doriki#and jabras upset by how both lucci ajd kakus are higher than his now but then u think about how hes the oldest in their group#heck five years ago when they were sent off to water 7 those two were 23 and FUCKIJG 18 YEARS OLD#OF COURSE HES UPSET THESE TWO FUCKING KIDS ARE STRONGEE THAN HIM#who holds seniority over them. im actually devastated and extremely entertained#the last time u see the youngest of your group hes some 18 year old kid you could best in a spar. maybe even leave some words of wisdom for#then he goes and leanrs how to build ships for 5 years and comes back stronger than u#they are a family to me... HE COULD HAVE ABANDONED TJEM?!?! THEM ALL HAD THE CHOICE OF LEAVING THE OTHERS BEHIND TO SAVE THEMSELVES#BUT THEY DIDNT. HE STILL GAVE KALIFA HIS SHIRT AND CARRIED KAKU ON HIS BACK ALL THE WAY TO ST POPLAR#biting my hands hitting the wall scratchijg the floors screaming shakijg not normal about these guys#THE WAY JABRA HAS A PET CHICKEN TO COUJTER HATTORI
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firebenders-are-cool · 3 months
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Years ago I came up with an ATLA fic idea for the earth avatar after korra and it was kinda good but I stopped caring about it. as I developed the plot and transformed my initial (flawed) idea, I got less interested in it because it was no longer the same idea. I basically wanted to write Trope A, didn't like that it was such a bad rendition of Trope A, fixed it, and got bored cause it wasn't Trope A anymore. I absolutely don't have the time (or desire) to go write it now (especially with avatar studios coming in hot with a new avatar), but damn I hope an alternate universe-me wrote it.
#atla#basically it was the same issue genji had and kyoshi had and all the fics have with not knowing who the new avatar is. Confusing two ppl#/not sure which is which#person A was abandoned at birth and given to family B#family B also had a child at the same time (gasp) which was person B#They grew up together in B's family. Both are benders#B was super clever and brave and maybe a bit headstrong but otherwise everything everyone expected of an avatar#kinda crappy parents of B are warned around age 14 or something that A and B could be dangerous together by Some Secret Source (villain for#and *insert political factors here* parents of B abandon them both.#[both A and B are mixed earth and fire nation]#A is a bit mellower and follows B's lead a lot of the time / doesn't mind not being the best at everything.#A and B go on adventures/solve mysteries on why their parents left both of them etc#that's like the first act and they find out one of them could be the avatar#they're poor btw. anyway#They of course make friends along the way (similar to aang's aventure-journey arc) and bam team avatar 3.0#except they don't know who the avatar is. gasp#so they look for people who might know how to find that out and they're like “it doesn't matter if it's you or me it's fine!” But ofc B#is really confident that it's them#blah blah they train and they find out Person A is the avatar. world crumbles#B is shocked and maybe there are issues beforehand yknow but A leaves for training and B is left in the dust feeling useless#Now abandoned by both family and friends in their eyes#B retreats and disappears for a few years as A trains. A does avatar things. B secretly gets involved with the Wrong Sort [villains]#maybe something spiritual? unlike lok2? who knows. Not me#leads up to A and B confronting each other and it's sad. A does not want this. B feels betrayed cause of x and y events#B obviously feels justified in their cause#*cue fight* but something changes w/ the villain and B's reality starts to crack#A convinces B that it's not all lost. Insert something about their parents again#gasp B's parents were threatened maybe. or not. Never decided#B starts to come around and together they kick ass. B has a LOT of community service hours to fill#protagonist to villain (maybe antihero?) to protagonist again
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worstloki · 2 years
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if you can gush constantly about enjoying a piece of media but diss the idea of people disliking the same thing unless/even though they provide detailed reasoning or proof with citations... idk I feel like you need to reassess something
#''how can you hate on--'' it is a movie! and even worse - a marvel movie! and yet more even it's biggest crime yet - it is a terrible one !#it makes no pretense of consistency with the rest of the 'cinematic' universe it alleges to come from !#the character acts like nothing of itself in the previous movie appeared in !#there is no character arc nor development of any character save for in the villain's final breaths ! the flimsy morality of such regret !#the humour is subpar in that it is reliant on gags - a cheap and desperate tactic to make weak comedy appear stronger !#for all that it speaks of love and grief the writing is poor and smart decent lines do not fit the context they are spoken in !#nor the characters speaking them thematically !#there is either too much unexplained occurring or nothing taking up too much time. this pacing and convenient exposition is bland !#final denouement carries little to no weight !#fight scenes are badly choreographed despite the genre + there is dubious camerawork in play on top of it which further breaks immersion !#it seems unable to decide on the rules of the world it has itself established !#ending cliffhangers can be good but in this instance feels as though done constantly solely to encourage watching the next product !#character interactions leave much to be desired and motivation to move the story forward tend to be convoluted at best !#what was once original characterization built on relevant events to flesh the character feels generic by both writing and presentation !#outfits make no attempt to look like they're authentic materials (plastic? :/ ?) and the CGI is problematically attained AND poor quality !#the 'inspiration' drawn from comic religious and myth source material is either offensive meaningless easter eggs or both !#maybe the move was generic and formulaic and difficult to follow along without other pieces of media and boring to top it off !#someone out there seems to believe sexualizing the men is a solution !#characters I have interest in were sidelined or mistreated by the narrative !#racist casting/roles have been given and the product did not reflect how it was advertised !#maybe............. someone simply did not have fun watching it .......................... has that been.........considered................?#L + based + ratio + Ctrl+Z + must I say more?#no one owes anyone an explanation to their enjoyment or lack thereof of a piece of media and shouldn't be insulted for it smh#now if someone gives reasons and THOSE are dodge... but no this isn't about that. another time then
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amphiptere · 1 year
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what are everyone’s ranking order for the narnia books. as a kid mine was 5-7-3-4-6-1-2, or something like that, with each number denoting the chronological order. now I have come to my senses about the seventh and I’m midway through a grown-up reread but I think it’ll be something like 5-3-6-1-4-2-7.
#mine#chronological order is magician's nephew tltwatw horse and his boy prince caspian dawn treader silver chair last battle#i think i totally get each being someone's favourite except maybe the last battle#idk what i was on about as a kid that book was not very good#maybe the hardcore christians love it because it's all allegory but like that went over my head when i was a kid i was in denial any of it w#as based on christianity#i guess i don't agree with prince caspian or tltwatw or the magician's nephew being the top favourite either#but that's just me thinking they are among the narratively weaker books#tltwatw can be your favourite for nostalgia reasons though that's ok#it is a great intro to the world but idk i just don't think it's the best novel#like you get introduced to the world and 100% it's got an awesome villain and great character arc with edmund#but then it's jsut kind of wandering around and aslan and santa solve everyone's problems for them#except i guess at the stone table that's a nice scene#i know i was just objecting to christian allegories but listen i don't mind if they work well as story beats still#the stone table scene is great! the end of the last battle is just stupid!#aslan randomly appearing as a lamb because why tf not in dawn treader? kind of pointless#but the rest of it is all good#anyway i love these books so much good lord they were formative#maybe this is my cozy fantasy origin story#because technically they all feature some sort of war/violence but it's mostly off-screen and over very quickly and the main characters don'#t partake#so not much of a focus so much as the Adventure and Fun of the World are#k i take back what i said about tltwatw it's a really solid plot#i just like the books that are more vibes#narnia
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marsbotz · 3 months
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i literally dgaf abt any of the bad things gus did hes like so great. he was literally in the right w everything
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anonprotagging · 1 year
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I'm too afraid to start the pokemas alola arc....... tbf I haven't played any of them since johto bc I'm too nervous but kalos and alola absolutely make me the most nervous... what if they massacre my faves....... or what if they don't and they turn to the camera and point at me specifically and say that I'm absolutely destroying their characterizations
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vaugarde · 2 years
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i finished reborn postgame i am finally fucking free.
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mxdotpng · 11 months
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thinking about a game swap. for zesteria/berseria
#.text#zestiria#actually been thinking about it for dayssaa#sorey who lives alone in a small town near pendrago. maybe his brother is sergei? theyre like brothers to me already#anyways then theres his boy best friend mikleo (human) (because hes in place of laphicet) who lives with his uncle michael#after his mom died (im sure you can see where this is going). sorey is sick at the time so he doesnt hear it coming#bc im NOT immune to Chronic Illness Sorey. consequences of being born early. he is sick all the time forever#anyway. one night heldalf's men invade. im sure you know the story. people die or turn into daemons or they turn into daemons#and then die. and while sorey is running (he thinks hes dreaming. or hallucinating. its just the fever and everything is fine) and#looking for mikleo. im sure you can guess what happens there too. bye (human) mikleo#idea came to me in a haze when i was thinking about how totally normal it would be for a guy to love a person who looks exactly#like his dead best friend. you know how it is.#anyway i think sorey is someone who could be fun if put in the role as 'villain' bc. well. that part in zestiria where he#dealt with the world calling him a monster and he just. didnt think about it bc if thats what they wanted him to be or if thats#what they saw him as it didnt matter. he'd still do what he thought was best. regardless of whether or not the world hated him#which. is also kind of similar to what laphicet said to velvet#sad they dropped that in zestiria but its fine i can fix it. with my funny game swap#and i can put these bad boys into Situations
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allseeingdirt · 1 year
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everytime i think about kath for too long especially when considering the wider picture im like. ngeremes plastik
#shes so. chews on railing#she was best friends with eve and aaron. she killed aaron. she fought in a rebellion to overthrow a tyrant. she became an empress after.#she adopted reza liz n nia n genuinely shes them as her children. she was barely a mother. she never knew what having caring parents felt#like. liz never knows what having a mother would even feel like. she wants desperately for nate to see her as a mentor and parental figure.#she killed his dad. she made his mother a widow. she killed aaron. she killed aaron. she killed her own best friend.#she never unlearns the ideologies her parents taught her despite spending years fighting a tyrant. she wants to protect the world from#anymore harm. she goes about it by subjugating territories after territories under her own rule. she thinks herself a reluctant villain.#she thinks herself a hero whos the only one capable or even willing to do what it takes.#ugh. ughhhh. i dont even hate her. i dont exactly Like her either. idk#shes a character for the narrative at least. i dont need to feel one way or the other for her.#though funny thing about her character is that her unresolved issues was catastrophic on a global scale and xu's canon is basically#so DEEPLY ENTRENCHED with and can NOT be separated from the consequences of her actions. like everything that happens every series of#important events every character dynamic every characters MOTIVATIONS the absolute CORE of the narrative conflict and every important#character is so deeply deeply a result of her actions. and she doesnt get much screentime as the rest of the cast. lol#we only get to her in part 3. which is arguably maybe the second most appearances of every parts. 4 and 5 shes basically relegated to side#character. part 6 shes there for the Final Confrontation. she gets more screentime but it doesnt actually mean much because every non-main#character gets more screentime because part 6's allllll about the conflict being bigger than xander flip and ari. so honestly despite being#the main antagonist. arguably everything that happened a result of her. shes actually kindaaaa akddmfoslor.#maybe because xu is more about interpersonal connection than anything else. meeting halfway meeting as equals. and kath has made herself to#be no ones equal. the top of the top. cool. detached. suave. charismatic. ruthless. nonchalant. egotist.#not your mother. despite wanting so so bad to be one. not your friend. despite being so so lonely and missing older times.#in a way she rlly does encapsulate xu's core theme and conflict. connections of equals vs isolations of hierarchies. and she is the highest#of all. so she must be the most isolated of all.#idk. everything is ur fault girl. u couldve had a better life. your best friends. maybe therapy before deciding 2 become a mother of three.#and yet it couldnt have been any other way. because u couldnt have been anyone other than kath.#and maybe theres some form of tragedy in that
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deadsetobsessions · 2 months
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I just really like the trope of Danny getting summoned, alright?
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After he shoved Pariah Dark in his coffin shaped locker what what Danny hoped to be for all of eternity, the half unfortunately inherited all of Pariah’s responsibilities.
“What was it again? With great powers comes great responsibilities?” Danny let his head hit the table with an audible thunk. He’s in his “office,” the ghost zone’s approximation of where he might be able to do work seriously. The house- the extension of his haunt- had added the room right next to his bedroom. Danny had to lift all of the paperwork from Pariah’s castle (that’s now also a part of what’s considered Danny’s but he doesn’t think about that) and move it to his main haunt.
He prayed to the universe at large to let him off. Danny hated doing homework- science not withstanding because at least he understood that- let alone an asshole’s centuries worth of work. Danny bemoaned the fact that he was elected the King. He didn’t even defeat Pariah all by himself, so why couldn’t the others do it?!
Like a wave of merciful fate, the beginning tugs of a summoning pulled at his core.
“Thank Ancients!”
Danny scrambled to grab a sticky note, unfortunately glowing green as things tended to in the Ghost Zone, and scribbled down that he’s been summoned and to not look for him until his vacation work was done.
With that note done, Danny decided to bring his A game to the summoning. Allowing his secondary form to wash over him, Danny quickly checked the mirror to make sure he was presentable. A bright glowing ice crown- not the crown of fire, because it was essentially useless without the ring and Danny wasn’t keen on being a king, let alone a near infinitely powerful one- settled across his brow showed his status. A cape, this form’s best feature, made of an expanse of galaxies, nebulae, and frost cling at the end was swept over his shoulders and pinned together with a cloak pin made of clusters of black holes.
A couple of additions to his normal hazmat suit and his trusty thermos at his side, Danny all but dove into the summoning magic with an excited whoop of glee.
As Danny got closer to the magic-made portal, he could hear the whispers of the living presences beyond it.
His summoners! Hopefully it’s not a cult again, even if he thought they were pretty funny trying to summon the king of the dead to kill more people. Not funny “haha,” funny weird.
How should he do this…? Scary? Funny? Oh! Or maybe he should ditch the crown!
Danny grinned, waving his hand to dispel the crown of ice. It was nice, but he was in a dungeon critter mood today.
“Oh, this is going to be gooood.”
Danny cracked his knuckles and put on the most dead-inside-and-outside expression he could manage, modeling it off of the Nasty Burger workers during closing shift. The halfa stepped through the portal.
——
“The ritual is completed! You will all face the might of Pariah Dark, the eternal king of the dead!” The villain of the week cackled as his cult cheered. Wonder Woman, scuffed and injured from the magical bolts these magic users had shot at her earlier, grimaced and raised her sword.
“We will defeat Pariah Dark,” she proclaimed. Her allies rallied at her proclamation and readied themselves for another fight. “This world will not bow to the likes of you!”
“We are all but mere ants before the king of the dead! Pariah Dark will bring forth the reckoning this shitty world deserves!”
“Actually, Pariah Dark’s kind of busy, so you’re gonna have to leave a message.”
Green Arrow’s arrow jerked towards the new voice. Batman paused, hand holding batarangs at the ready. He, out of all of them, knew better than to underestimate a young voice.
A gloved hand shoved through the green portal, using the edges like a door frame to heave itself through. A humanoid shape, with sharp ears all but crawled out of the Lazarus green portal. Batman wondered if this was what Jason saw when he came back to life.
"Lord Pariah Dark is busy?!"
The figure- a boyish not-human- heaved a sigh. "Do you people seriously think that the High King of the Infinite Realms isn't swamped with work?"
"And who are you supposed to be? His secretary?" Hal asked, Ring glowing and at the ready. Wonder Woman tensed and mentally struck Hal away from the list of people to consider for diplomatic missions.
"Me? I'm a glorified paper pusher." The being turned back to the cultists, his cape containing the universe swished behind him. "Did you have a message for Pariah Dark?"
"He was meant to rain down death and destruction!"
"Okay, first of all, I feel like you guys are missing a really important point." The being pointed at the cult leader. “It’s not called the King of the Dead for no reason, you know. Death comes for everyone eventually. Also, I have to do a seriously giant amount of paperwork every time one of you fruitloops gets the bright idea to cause an influx of deaths.”
Danny stomped across the circle, grabbed the collar of the cultist leader’s cloak and yanked him down. He shook him. “Do you people have any idea how annoying it is?! Huh?! Do you know how long the A-354 Form is?! Stop trying to get Pariah to kill people! I’m sick of the paperwork, dammit!”
"How- how did you get out of the circle?!"
The cultists and the heroes squared up, ready to fight the possible common enemy: Danny.
Danny is having the best time of his half life. Screw kingly dignity, Danny’s gotta de-stress somehow! He had a whole bag of complaints!
"You wrote the circle wrong, idiots! Ancients, are you people even literate? What even are those scribbles?" Danny kept shaking the cultist. Wow, what an amazing stress ball!
“Uh- hey, he looks kind of sick…” The Flash said, trying to be a good hero and mediate before escalating. Danny snarled and Flash held up his hands, gulping in fear as Danny’s eyes narrowed at him. “Did I… do something?”
“You,” Danny hissed. “You mother- fruitloop! Stop screwing with the timeline, you giant red-! Do you know how annoying it is to readjust the death count every time one of you little merry red jesters takes a jaunt through time and space?! Do you even know how many complaints I had to field?! Oh, boy you’re all going to regret summoning me today, because I’ve had a long time to think about what I’d do to everyone who made me work overtime!”
Danny bared his teeth, eyes sparkling with mirth as he froze the cultists.
"We're not letting you take over the world," Hawk-Woman said, raising her mace that pulsed with electricity.
Danny snorted to hide his wince. "I'm not interested. Just let me punch him once. Just once." Danny pointed at the Flash.
"Honestly, I can't even blame you," Black Canary muttered, fists raised.
"Wha-! Canary! That's so rude! You traitor!"
"Shouldn't have put skittles in my shoes then. Those hurt, Flash."
"Enough." Everyone shut up at the sound of Batman's command. "What do you mean they wrote the circle wrong."
Danny, who was watching the byplay with interest, shrugged. "They wanted to summon the Ghost King, right? We've had a... change of leaders recently."
"Who is the leader now?"
Danny waggled a finger at Batman. "Nuh-uh. I'm gonna collect my over-time compensation, which is punching the Flash, and then we can negotiate for information."
"Flash."
"I don't want to get punched, Bats!"
"The alternative is that I let the current Ghost King have a go at you."
"Flash."
"Oh my god, just get punched, Barry!" Danny heard Green Lantern Hal Jordan whisper.
"Ugh, fine. No one video this."
Immediately, three phones go up to record the Flash getting decked by a teenage looking ghost. Danny floated closer and wound his fist back, letting loose some of the ghost strength he normally keeps restrained. "This is for my overtime and for Clockwork, you jerk."
The halfa slammed his fist straight into the Flash's face, knocking him clear into the air. Superman catches him but Danny no longer paid attention to the Flash, petty vengeance enacted.
"Honestly, I don't have a problem with you as a person. You're kind of cool. Break the timeline again in the next three months, though, and you're on my shit-list."
"What do you want in exchange for information?"
Danny hummed. "Depending on the level of information, and I reserve the right to not answer any questions. For the name of the current Ghost King..."
He did want that new gaming console. And Jazz could use some help with her rent.
"I want $5,000 and a plate of really good spaghetti."
"I have cash."
Danny nodded at the Dark Knight. "You just carry $5,000 in cash on you? Who does that?"
"I like to be prepared."
"And he's rich," Superman chimed in.
The Flash reappeared with a plate of spaghetti from an Italian place he teleported to. "Here you go. Fresh, and pleasedon'tscrewwithmyafterlife."
Danny shoveled the spaghetti into his mouth, jaw unhinging like a particularly disturbing snake right before he dumped the whole thing- plate and all- down his throat. "Thanks! The food didn't even try to kill me this time! You're good."
"Does your food try to kill you all of the time?!" The Flash- Barry, apparently- asked.
Danny nodded as he took the cash from Batman's gloved hands. "Totally. It sucks."
"Identity." Batman demanded.
"Oh, yeah. The current ghost king is me."
"...What."
"You have been swindled. Bamboozled. Outwitted and outsmarted," Danny snickered, shoving the bundle of cash in his chest. "But seriously, I'm the king. We got rid of Pariah a while ago."
The crown of ice materialized.
"You said you were a glorified paper pusher!" Hawk-Woman chortled.
"I am! I'm pushing so many papers across my desk, it's unending, I swear!"
Batman growled. "You tricked us."
Danny smirked, "You got tricked." Red Robin, in the corner, snorted quietly. "Anyways, if you've got more interesting things around here, I'll considering busying myself with that instead of sentencing you to an afterlife of paperwork."
The adults straightened, grimacing. "Beast Boy is green," Hal offered up.
"Hey!" Beast Boy shouted, offended at the easy way Hal offered him up. He turned to Danny. "But have you ever seen a green chinchilla? Super cute. Watch!"
"Woah!" Danny clapped. Yes, he'll hang out with them before dragging himself back.
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serafilms · 17 days
Text
the golden quartet
art donaldson x reader, slight tashi duncan x reader, slight patrick zweig x reader, wc: 2k
author’s note: basically just a way less toxic (?) version of the movie with the reader inserted. they’re all still incredibly codependent and tashi/reader are very much in love and art/patrick are very much in love and art/tashi have their own kind of friendship/relationship and so do patrick/reader, but really patrick and tashi are one couple, art and reader are another couple, but like they would all live together and probably sleep in the same bed hypothetically. but in a healthy way. i like to imagine a world where they’re all codependent but skip all the “villain” allegations in their mess, and it’s just a beautiful unspoken symphony of love and four-way fidelity and infidelity. will probably write more in this universe.
part two here
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“Tashi, stop it.”
Tashi stops and her eyes lock in on you, racket dropping to her side. “Stop what?”
You watch the way she bounces the ball a few times and don’t miss the way her gaze keeps flitting to your hand.
“Stop analysing me.”
She lifts a shoulder in a shrug, and doesn’t break your gaze. “It’s my job to analyse the opponent so I know how to win the game.”
“Yeah, but you’re not looking at me like an opponent.” Your lips purse. “You’re looking at me like you’re trying to calculate how to get me back on the court.”
“You’re on the court right now, aren’t you?”
“You know what I mean, Tashi.” Your racket falls to the court exasperatedly and you manage a step towards the net. “It’s over for me, I’m done playing tennis and I’m okay with that, but I’m not sure that you are.”
There’s just a tiny quiver in her eyes before her gaze steels itself again and she nods. “Fine. I get it.”
She tosses you the ball. “Just help me train.”
You watch as Tashi gets into position, and pick up your racket slowly. Maybe you shouldn’t have snapped at her. You so rarely do, but you’ve closed the door on that chapter of your life now, and you’re sick of her trying to pry it open. You don’t want possibilities of what you could have had. You don’t want to put in more years just to watch yourself fail at something you never really liked in the first place.
There’s a dull ache in your chest as you serve the ball.
Tashi Duncan has been your best friend for five years. For the life of you, you can’t remember the details of the tournament you were at, but you had a game against her. It was electrifying. You’d never played tennis like that before. It felt like you’d never known what it was like to breathe before Tashi Duncan. She basically crushed you, but you managed to get in a good few points, had the audience and line judges on the edge of their seats, and at the end of it, when you shook her hand, you felt like you’d just discovered a missing limb.
She found you afterwards in the stands and sat with you to spectate the next few matches. And hadn’t let you go since. You couldn’t imagine a life without Tashi. She was there for your first boyfriend, she was there when you broke up with him, she was there when you failed a class and your parents threatened to pull you out of tennis, and she was there when your wrist shattered and you quit.
Tashi never really understood why it was so easy for you to walk away. “You’re one of the best,” “You have so much potential,” “You can learn to play with your other hand.”
She never seemed to hear you when you said you didn’t want to play anymore. She’d look at you, with her piercing gaze then look away and move on. But the conversation was never over. It was like you didn’t exist to her without tennis, like it was your one achievement, and she couldn’t gauge who you were without it.
You suppose you were flattered, touched even, that she cared so much about you, in her own weird way.
Tashi looks at you questioningly when you lower your racket. You smile, “You should rest up. Your drills are perfect. You’re gonna crush her tomorrow.”
She takes a look at her watch, then nods. You can tell she wants to stay longer, but there’s really no reason to. Especially when you can feel her itching for a real match. That you can’t give her.
You bump her shoulder as the two of you walk out. “Wanna grab some donuts?”
The unimpressed face she gives you makes you laugh. “Come on, we can get you one of those healthy ones. The gluten-free, vegan bullshit.”
“Sounds delicious,” she drawls, but makes no further comments. You grin. A success.
She says nothing as you swing your borderline crippled arm over her shoulder, but you feel her muscles underneath relax just a little bit.
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The following day brings a new round of pretentious young assholes on the court. Some of them eye you up as you make your way into the bleachers, whispering to each other. A girl comes up to you and asks for a picture. You’re a little surprised, and feel a little blindsided, but you suppose it’s only been a year since your injury. And well, considering where you are right now, it sure does seem to the rest of the world like you’re not fully done with tennis.
“Yeah, no problem,” you say with a smile.
The girl takes the picture, thanks you profusely then leaves, and you make your way up to the bleachers, and find a nice spot in the middle. Tashi liked you to be right in the middle of the game so you could watch her and her opponent. You wonder if she’s secretly preparing you to become an umpire.
There’s a flurry of whispers all too close to you, and then there’s a shadow blocking the sun to your left.
Two boys stand facing you, staring at you with their mouths slightly agape. You can’t help the amused smile that splits your face.
“Can I help you?”
The brunet snaps back into reality first. “Sorry, we were just— are you Y/N L/N?”
“Yeah, I am,” you say, eyes flitting between the two. They’re cute. Really cute.
The blond shakes his head slightly, like he’s coming out of a trance, and says, “Sorry, this is just the first time we’ve seen or heard about you since….you know.”
He winces, and his head ducks a little like a scolded puppy. “Sorry to hear about that, by the way.”
You let out a laugh that seems to catch his attention again. His friend jabs him in the side with his elbow. “Oh, don’t worry about it, seriously. It’s been a year, I’m over it.”
“Huh,” he says, nodding a little absently. He glances to the brunet, who’s just grinning at him. “Um, by the way, we’re—“
“Art Donaldson and Patrick Zweig, right?”
The blond, Art, looks a little speechless.
Patrick chimes in. “Yeah, that’s us.”
“I watched your game just before. That was quite some victory celebration.”
The way Art’s ears turn red makes you happier than you’d like to admit. There’s a little flip in your stomach as he fumbles, “Yeah, well…”
There’s a flurry of movement as Patrick puts his arm around Art’s neck and pulls him impossibly close in a one armed hug. “Social conduct’s not gonna get in the way of me celebrating with my boy.”
The blond leans away and fights to get Patrick off him, and you smile as you watch. “Don’t worry, it was cute. Plus, I get it. We’re sort of the same way sometimes when it comes to victories. I mean, not the same, but you know.”
That seems to catch Patrick’s attention. “By we, do you mean you and—“
“Tashi Duncan!”
The announcement rings loud and clear through the speakers as she walks onto the court.
It’s almost comical the way Patrick’s jaw goes slack and he slumps onto the seat behind him.
You watch as Tashi waves at her screaming fans, shoots her winning smiles and makes her way to her side. She catches your gaze for a moment and you nod. She looks away and begins to stretch, but you’re not bothered. She knows you’re here, and that’s all you need. Can’t try and take Tashi Duncan out of the zone.
As you sit down, you’re a little surprised to find Art mirroring the action, still looking at you. “So, you’re best friends with Tashi Duncan?”
You nod. “Since we were like, thirteen.”
“Oh wow,” his eyes widen and you can’t help but think how impossibly cute he looks, “that’s almost how long Patrick and I have been friends.”
“Really? Oh, wow.” There’s a beat of silence, just long enough for you to catch each other’s eye and look away with awkward giggles.
Luckily, that’s when the match starts. And your focus locks in.
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“COME ON!” Tashi’s scream is palpable in the air.
It feels like the wind has been knocked out of you. You’ve heard it a million times before, but it never fails to strike you.
There’s something akin to awe in Patrick’s eyes. Art looks like he’s in disbelief.
You can’t help but agree with their faces.
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“So, are you guys coming to the party tonight?”
Patrick’s eyes flit away from Tashi’s to look at you. “Yeah, we were just talking about earlier. Art was saying how excited he was. He just loves parties.”
You can’t quite decipher the smirk on his face, but he looks like the kind of guy who’s never up to any good, so you turn to Art expectantly.
His eyes meet yours and your stomach does another little flip as he says, “Yeah, I’ll— we’ll be there.”
“Cool,” you reply. “I’ll see you guys later, then.”
You manage one quick glance back as you walk away, and see Patrick grinning and shaking Art’s shoulders. A smile plays at the corner of your lips and you leave.
Tashi finds you at your agreed-upon meeting spot, and wastes no time in grabbing your hand. “Come on.”
“Don’t you need to take pictures with your trophy?”
“Got a few, they’ll take more at the Adidas party. We’ve got to get ready.”
There’s a warm feeling like sunlight dancing in your chest as you let her drag you away.
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The party is in full swing by the time you finally spot Art Donaldson and Patrick Zweig lurking in the corner of the yard.
You’d just stepped off the dance floor for a moment, telling Tashi you were going to get another drink. The two boys seem to be arguing about something, but as you close the distance, you can see that they’re grinning too.
“Hey,” you greet the two. Their heads turn towards you in unison and they both stand up straight.
“Hi,” they chorus.
You take a sip of your drink as your eyes flit between the two. “So….what are you guys doing all the way over here?”
“You know,” Art says dryly. “Just enjoying the ambience.”
(Cute and funny. Man, you’re screwed).
“It’s a lot less creepy if you actually talk to her instead of just staring at her.” Your words are directed at Patrick, whose eyebrows shoot up. A smirk falls on his face. His charm instantly covers up the awkwardness.
Art barks out a laugh. (It’s a sound you wish you could inscribe in your mind).
“What makes you think I’m here for her?” Patrick smirks, looking you up and down. It’s so clearly a deflection, but it feels so natural that you can’t help but smile, and you feel your cheeks warm just a tad.
You glance back at the dance floor, and see Tashi excuse herself, glancing at you as she goes for her drink. You reach over to pat him on the shoulder. “Come on, I’ll help you out.”
As you turn on your heel and walk towards Tashi, you hear a slap behind you and an, “Ow!”
“Tashi!” The smile in your voice is audible as she looks up.
“Hey,” she smiles back.
Then, her head tilts to the side and she looks at the boys. “Hi.”
“Hi,” they both say.
There’s a quiet moment in which you all exchange looks, a twinkle in each of your eyes. You can almost feel a spark of something in the air, and suddenly you’re thirteen years old again, meeting Tashi for the first time. Like another puzzle piece has finally fallen into place.
You feel your chest warm. If only you knew what your life was about to become.
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